Had a go on one at the weekend and was impressed.
Has anyone tried one of the Voodoos that Halfords do for £650?
Cheap for a reason, or because they aren’t a fancy brand?
Before anyone gets going about it being from “Hellfrauds” a) I’ll make sure that the forks are on the right way round, and b) I don’t care.
Not that one specifically, but it has the slight drawback that the cheaper Boardmans have which is cable disk brakes. The price of road brifters make it a £££ upgrade if you want to improve later.
A second hand Boardman ADV 8.9 shouldn't be any more pricey and fairly common on eBay. e.g. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/176447743504?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=3vpw9_rlRWC&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=DkdiOL5LQVe&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY
Never had a gravel bike from the but I've had 3 Voodoo MTBs. They were similar in cost to what you're looking at.
The equivalent Specialized and Trek MTBs (same fork, drivetrain, brakes etc) were getting on for double the cost. I think a large amount of the price difference is paying for the name and marketing budgets of the bigger manufacturers. Ok, maybe the frame is made from nicer material or whatever but a) it's probably not and b) does anyone even notice?
Halfords often have promotions on bikes. Last couple I bought were 20% off so it might be worth hanging on for a bit or maybe asking them if there's anything coming up. Even if it was only 10%, it makes a good value bike even better.
I had the earlier grey/orange version, for the price it was pretty good.
Did around a thousand miles on it in the first couple of lockdowns, no problems.
https://www.merlincycles.com/felt-broam-40-tiagra-gravel-bike-317203.html
This looks decent for the same price of £650 if you happen to ride a 51cm.
Bit dearer but better spec
There's a Vitus on CRC, however the website gives absolutely no specs on it!
If the itch is still there after summer I think I need to try a few for size.
Actually, I just noticed, the VooDoo has an aluminium fork. Apparently these can feel quite harsh/stiff off road although I've never tried any back to back with carbon ones to tell personally. Others may have a better view.
My wife has a basic Vitus gravel bike and is very happy with it. Swapped out the saddle and popped a slightly shorter stem on it but it’s otherwise stock. Gearing is a little more road oriented but fine for flatter off-road terrain.
Not sure which one you’ve seen but specs can be found here:
https://vitusbikes.com/collections/road-and-gravel-bikes
Cable brakes are ok IF they're mounted on the seatstay. If the brakes are mounted on the chainstay - as they are on the Voodoo Nakisi - then muddy water runs down the cable into the housing and gets it all gritty and horrible. It's fine to have hydraulic brakes on the chainstay but personally I will avoid any bike with a chainstay mounted cable disk
I have a bit of a soft spot for Voodoo bikes, Hellfrauds or not.
I think it looks a good bike for an off the peg new bike - as other have pointed out a Halfords weekend discount deal would make it even more appealing.
Yes the fork may be harsh and longevity of upgrades may be harder due to the IS mounts rather than flat mounts but there are still a good number of cable IS mount options that would be an upgrade if needed.
As above if you're moving across from MTB side of things rather than road and are used to being able to stop, I'd definitely try and get something with hydraulic discs. Even at reduced pricing that's a ~£300 upgrade later and it's one that you will want to do unless you happen to be <50kg and don't mind adjusting them every couple of rides to keep the pads nice and close to the disc!
Other than that it looks like a good little bike really, although doesn't mention max tyre clearance (unless I've missed it). Personally I'd like to have room for 45mm minimum as that gives a bit more freedom and mud room for British winter "gravel" and it looks like it comes with 37mm. Could always just look in the shop at how much room there is around them and guesstimate it from there.
Aye.
Carbon fork
Hydraulic discs
45mm clearance